The present invention relates to an improved foot rest that can be readily transported by the user, where the foot rest includes a pair of balanced pivotal legs to provide a stationary foot rest and a teeter totter-like foot rest to help in exercising the user's ankles, especially for use by height challenged people.
It is a well known medical phenomenon that physical discomfort in the lower back of a seated person can often be relieved by elevating the feet on a foot rest, footstool or ottoman. Further, the serious complications from dependent edema from prolonged sitting may be reduced by elevating the feet on a foot rest of some sort. People with short legs are also often in need of a foot rest when seated in automobiles, airplanes and other types of chairs because their feet may not reach the floor, and excessive forces are consequently put on one's thighs.
The prior art offers a number of proposed solutions for such people, where the following U.S. patents reflect several of such solutions:
a.) No. 5,489,144, to Lewis, teaches a foot stool for supporting the legs of an individual relative to a ground surface. The device includes a support member for receiving the individual's legs. A folding leg assembly positions the support member above the ground and can be folded flatly against the support member for storage and/or transportation purposes.
b.) No. 5,316,374, to Fidler, covers a portable foot rest that includes first and second side plates hingedly mounted together, first and second end plates hingedly mounted to a first side plate, and at least one end plate slot to receive lug portions of the second end plate. The foot rest is arranged for interfolding relative to the plate structure for securement to a portable container to permit ease of transport and storage.
c.) No. 5,244,255, to Hill, discloses a folding foot rest having a thin, flat rectangular platform with a foot-supporting upper surface and hinges at two opposed short sides that pivotally connect to a pair of flat legs. The legs support the platform in an elevated position above a surface on which the legs rest. This provides an elevated foot rest, especially for the seated short person. The hinges permit the legs to swing from the vertical operative position in which both legs are parallel to one another and extended downward at right angles to the platform to the folded, transport position lying flat on top of the upper surface of the platform. By covering the soiled foot-supporting surface of the platform with the folded legs, a more sanitary folded package is provided for carrying in pocket or purse. The hinge cooperates with the legs and platform to stop the legs from moving toward one another when in the operative position. A removable strut extends between and engages both legs in the operative position to prevent the legs from moving away from one another. The strut also serves as a toe hold for moving the foot rest about.
d.) No. 4,462,636, to Markson, is directed a collapsible footstool that includes a platform and a pair of legs adapted to support the platform in an elevated position. The legs are hinged to the platform so that they can be folded inwardly below the platform with stop means for preventing outward movement of the legs beyond positions in which they support the platform. Bracing means are provided and include respective struts pivotally coupled to the underside of the platform and adapted to cooperate with the legs for bracing them in their operative positions.
e.) No. 4,228,745, to Gale, teaches a footstool which is variable in both its height and its slope to accommodate the varying needs of individuals who are required to hold a leg in an elevated position for extended periods of time. The stool includes a main body portion having adjustable legs at each end and which may be hinged to the main body portion for convenience in transport and storage. Each of the legs is formed of a base portion and a portion fixed to the main body portion of the stool with an infinitely variable adjustment member such as a screw anchored in one of the leg portions and a mating nut mounted in the other of the leg portions. Preferably, the legs extend downwardly from the main body portion at diverging angles, in their use position, to enhance the longitudinal stability of the stool. Lateral stability and overall stability are provided by widely separated guides in each leg which provide both lateral and longitudinal guidance and bracing on both sides of each of the leg adjusters. The leg portions, which are fixed with respect to the main body portion, may be latched in their use position to provide an essentially rigid joint between the main body portion and that portion of the leg.
f.) No. 172,674, to Tyler, relates to a padded foot stool that includes a pair of pivotal legs to elevate the padded foot stool.
Though the foregoing prior art offer a number of proposals for portable foot rests, they are all of the static types that merely rest on a supporting surface, such as a floor. None provide the versatility of the portable foot rest of the present invention, where the pivotal legs thereof are spaced inwardly from the platform ends to allow the user to exercise and move one's ankles through a teeter-totter motion. The manner by which the present invention achieves such goal will become clearer in the specification which follows, especially when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.